


Let Me Sleep

by jinramyeon



Category: ITZY (Band)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25076827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinramyeon/pseuds/jinramyeon
Summary: In which Yeji is sleep deprived.
Relationships: Hwang Yeji/Shin Ryujin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 70





	Let Me Sleep

The day ahead of the girls proved to be demanding in a physical aspect.

By the time the last of their activities have come into cessation, every single ounce of energy left from Yeji was spent.

A week's worth of activities crammed in a single day and spanned for the past few days. The grass seemed to become greener after tonight with tomorrow being their much-awaited leisure time.

Tired was an understatement, to say the least when one member gets knocked out cold with a half-eaten chocolate bar on hand. Another failed to get the chance to remove any remains of make-up from her face.

Yeji's excitement was plain. She tries to remember the last time that she was able to get more than a wink during the week but she's left with zilch. A warm bath sounded very euphoric but the growing ascent made her settle with the bed. Though the relaxing bath came close in second. She couldn't afford any possibility of falling asleep in the bath and becoming vulnerable to illness as excellent health is a must for the job.

Sleep is scarce nowadays so when provided the window of opportunity, one must seize and make most out of it. Living in the limelight demanded an acceptable sacrifice to achieve it and sleep was one out of the many.

Yeji thrashes herself onto the bed in an instant, drifting away into a peaceful rest. In an ideal scenario, she would have maximized the time she had left until she faces the world once more. But things never go her way. It was less than an hour in dormancy when the onslaught of messages and irksome vibrations from her phone woke her. Strangling whoever thought it was a wise idea to reach her at this ungodly hour first came to her mind. Yes, it was a free day but she needs to be a responsible leader the next morning as well, making sure that the kids get to school on time. (Even though she was a kid herself and being the eldest in the bunch had its culpability.) Yeji raises her head to see the clock blaring the time in large, digital font as if mocking her. Although reluctant, she still checks her phone but mutters a quick prayer that it wasn't urgent and could wait until tomorrow.

She squints, her pupils trying to adjust to the light coming from her phone as she tries to make out the sender's name. A sough escapes from Yeji's lips as soon as she realizes the identity of the "mystery" sender. She heard a faint giggle coming from the bottom bunk which was likely caused by her reaction. She was grateful for the fact that it was not much of importance but it did interrupt her rest so she was on edge still.

_58 messages from Ryuddaeng ♡_

Ryujin drives her insane but alas, the bubbling annoyance in her dissipated quick. She cannot stand staying furious at her dearest roommate despite her sleep being disturbed. She has this soft spot for the certain person that resides below her bunk. Yeji cannot fathom how on earth the younger girl still had the capacity to remain awake after a long day. She ponders whether energy transfer was possible and if the youngest of them all, Yuna, had given some to her roommate. Yeji wasting no more time made her descent to the bottom bunk. A goofy grin greeted her when she came face-to-face with the younger girl, the older replied with a scowl and a pillow smacking her face point-blank. Ryujin scrunched her nose which accentuated her famous whisker-like dimples. (Yeji found this endearing but this was her well-kept secret.)

In less than a minute, Yeji bundled herself up in the confines of the thick, cozy duvet and Ryujin's arms. She was hopeful that this would guarantee her sleep and it was fair enough considering the younger had her way. To hope is free and again, nothing really went right for Hwang Yeji lately. She was already on the brink of going back to dreamland when Ryujin speaks up.

**"Hey, if a tomato is a fruit, does that mean ketchup is a smoothie?"**

**"If you drop a soap will the soap get dirty? Or will the floor be clean?"**

**"Can you daydream at night?"**

Ryujin was completely immersed in her philosophical world and perhaps even an existential crisis that left no room for the older to breakthrough. She was oblivious to the drowsy girl in her embrace and continued to ramble on. Yeji groans out in frustration. She wanted, no, needed her to fill to endure the next morning and the day to come and it was proving to be a difficult feat. If only she had a glimpse of the future she would have thought of purchasing the earplugs she saw earlier. Her grandmother's wise words echo her mind at that peculiar moment.

_'You should never stay awake until 3 am because that's when the devil will come and get you, bringing you to their lair.'_

Who knew that something meant to terrify her out of her wits and fool her into sleeping would manifest into truth?

Ryujin was a devil in disguise. A devil who doesn't want to let her sleep in peace though it was a pure overreaction on her part. The younger was nothing like a devil and in fact, was one of the purest souls Yeji has ever encountered in her life.

Determined, Yeji was not going to let Ryujin hinder her slumber at all and decides to ignore the existence of the girl next to her. It seems successful but only for a few minutes because Ryujin being her mischievous self, blows air into Yeji's ear.

When Yeji's bloodshot eyes open, she comes eye-to-eye with Ryujin who's hovering on top of her while laughing her heart out. The sight sends Yeji's heart into a series of tiny somersaults. Shin Ryujin was the death of her. No one dared to move. It had become a staring contest between them, in which none wants to give in to the other. The first one to blink loses.

Silence filled the room. While it was silent, it was far from being uncomfortable and, it brought repose. Only the faint breathing of the pink-haired girl fills the room because Yeji unknowingly held her breath as she becomes lost in the younger's eyes.

_'Her eyes outshine even the brightest of the galaxies.'_

It was an intimate moment between them, both frozen and unable to say a word. At least, Yeji was. Ryujin being Ryujin had to ruin the mood by rambling once again.

**"Have you ever realized that there are more people who stood on the moon than on your desk?"**

**"Excuse me? Why would they stand on my desk?"** Yeji shakes her head, still in disbelief at the younger's words.

Ryujin shrugs. **"** **Perhaps, Science?"**

Yeji resists the urge to smack Ryujin in the face with a pillow for a second time that night. She questions herself on why she was stuck in this kind of predicament in the middle of the night. She failed to recollect that while Ryujin was kind, she can be the most annoying person if she wanted to. It was as clear as day that it was one of those days. This is a duality that Yeji has come to embrace over the years they have gone through with each other. Not everyone has the privilege to see the mighty girl crush in her most comfortable area and Yeji will forever cherish that.

While she does not thwack her or anything, she does use her special power to pinch the adorable cheeks of the younger girl. It earned a yelp from Ryujin, huffing afterwards with Yeji only laughing her heart out. The older's laughter sounded like music to Ryujin's ears and she vows to do anything to keep the girl happy. Vigor filled both of them for some reason and kept them wide awake but it was only a short burst likened to a sugar rush until a yawning Yeji appeared once more. Yeji reads the time on the clock that says it's a quarter till four.

**"As much as I want to extend this mundane conversation, it's time to hit the haystack. You need to attend school in less than three hours."** She says with a hint of disappointment laced in her voice, wanting to prolong their talk but her responsible self had prevailed. If someone had to play the role of being the bad cop, it was her. 

Ryujin was having none of it. Her rebellious streak had taken forth because being together like this was considered a luxury for them both.

**"Why is a spork called a spork and not a foon, I mean it makes sense right?"** Yeji will never understand the complex mind of Shin Ryujin and marvels about the way her bloody brilliant mind works. If it wasn't for Morpheus trying to claim her, she would have humored her. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

As a last resort to her Ryujin "problem", Yeji crashes her lips against the pink-haired girl's. It was short and sweet, enough to convey her affections towards the younger girl but stern in a sense to know their limits. Upon pulling away, Ryujin's brain went haywire. Yeji could only giggle at the poor girl she broke after their kiss. Though it was dark, the moonlit room was still bright enough for Yeji to make out and see how red the tips of Ryujin's ears were. Ryujin still too stunned to move (most likely in a gay panic) was flushed beet red. The bold move from her older roommate caught her off guard. The kiss only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to make her malfunction. It was at that moment that she knows she was doomed for life. Ryujin knows that Yeji has her wrapped around her fingers just like that. There were no violent reactions or whatever, she knows she likes being under her leader's spell. 

_'Damn you, Hwang Yeji. The audacity you have to do things that hurt my heart. In a good way though.'_

A victorious smirk creeps on Yeji's lips knowing that she shut the noisy girl up. Finally, peace has been achieved in this humble abode for the first time in the last few hours. Ryujin was about to protest when the older girl snuggles her face into the crook of her neck.

Ryujin is left to wonder whether Yeji could hear her heart pounding against her chest. Yeji does hear the calm and steady beating of her heart which screamed home. The beating of Ryujin's heart lulls her to a deep slumber that she has been waiting for the past couple of hours. The last time Ryujin knows Yeji was still awake was when she mumbles "warm" against her neck.

For the final time in the night, Ryujin talks but only in a whisper that Yeji would not hear.

**"I love you. Sweet dreams."** She places a tender kiss onto the sleeping woman's temple like it was a scene from a slow-burn romance fiction.

Ryujin's night routine ends when she makes sure that her alarms were set before she followed the older girl into dreamland. She does so with complete wisdom that it was going to take more than a single alarm to get her up. She makes sure to embrace the girl tight in her arms as if she had no plans to let her go. (She was insistent about keeping her safe in her embrace for a long time.)

As soon as Yeji wakes, the time greets her. It was already nine in the morning and it was as if someone doused her with ice-cold water. She forgot to get the kids ready for school. She picks her sloppy self up and scrambles but the dorm turned out to be empty when she comes out of the room. The kids are nowhere to be seen at all or any signs of them still being here. Yeji decides to check the other rooms but there was no Chaeryeong nor Yuna. Only a sleeping Lia was present inside the room. (Yeji blinks because she does not comprehend why the other girl had a half-eaten chocolate bar in her hand.) She wanted to get rid of it but Lia ended up gobbling the chocolate all of a sudden before going back to sleep. That was a weird thing to witness. It only dawns on her now that she woke up without a Ryujin by her side.

She checks the room they share and, indeed there was no Ryujin at all. Yeji makes her way up to her bunk to grab her phone in hopes of finding a single message and there it was.

_63 Messages from Ryuddaeng ♡_

**Ryuddaeng ♡**

07:05

We already went to school in case you're wondering, Yeddeong.

07:09

You're definitely gonna get a heart attack when you wake up, sleepyhead.

07:12

I cooked breakfast for you and Lia. Just heat it whenever you're hungry.

07:13

You looked pretty tired I didn't want to wake you up. My bad. :3

07:59

I love you, baby! I'll see you after class.

Her heart swells at the text messages. Ryujin that sly fox. She could not help but feel touched by the tiny gesture that the younger did for her.

_'Shin Ryujin, you're annoying. The things you do to my heart really.'_

Maybe losing sleep was not that terrible after all. Not if it was losing sleep for Shin Ryujin, her beloved girlfriend.

**Author's Note:**

> so this is the first one-shot i have ever finished. i had tons of stories in my drafts but i couldn't deliver because always end up having a creative block. so yay! i might start a ryeji au on twt so feel free to follow me there @ryejinbilog thank you guys!


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